When Carlos Tevez returned from exile he was right to worry that rejoining the Manchester City squad would involve some uncomfortable moments. Joleon Lescott describes what happened when Tevez entered the dressing room, his sabbatical and spat with the club finally over.
“Micks [Micah Richards] nearly put him through the ceiling!” Lescott laughs. “He lifted him right up like you would a child — through compassion and just being so pleased to see him. We haven’t mentioned [Tevez’s problems]. We’ve let him know we’ve been missing him. He was nervous about returning but would have known, deep down, we all want him back.”
The relationship between Tevez and City’s manager, Roberto Mancini, once venomous, is okay, Lescott says. “There’s been no disruption. If that had been the case the manager wouldn’t have had him training with us. Everyone’s handled the situation spot-on. It’s business as usual now.”
Richards hoisted Tevez like a trophy because City’s players believe he can win them one. The Big One. Tevez is back in Mancini’s squad for Wednesday’s pivotal meeting with Chelsea. City need a talisman to arrest a slump that has seen them exit four competitions and cede Premier League advantage to Manchester United.
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“Carlos can definitely have an impact [on the title race],” Lescott says. “A player of his quality would enhance anyone. He’s looking sharp in training, a player like that does not lose quality. We’re willing to let what’s happened go. As long as he shows over the next 10 games the form he’s shown in the past two years, we’ll be grateful.” Lescott has been out of action with a groin problem but, with Vincent Kompany, expects to return against Chelsea. City missed their first-choice central defenders when losing to a late, soft goal at Swansea a week ago.
Television pictures of a supporter apparently sobbing at the Liberty stadium furthered a perception that City are reverting to their flaky old selves at the very moment United have hit the kind of pitiless professional run that usually sees them grind out league titles. A heartbreak script for the “noisy neighbours” seems already written.
Lescott rejects that. “Yeah, there’s going to be a question mark against us because we haven’t done it before,” he says. “But at the start of the season we went on a 15-game unbeaten run and who’s to say we can’t do it again?
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“As a club we don’t have the experience of winning the title whereas United do. But that’s not the case with individuals. More of their individuals have won the Premier League but a lot of our players have won titles and medals elsewhere.
“We have David Silva, who’s won the World Cup and European championship, and I don’t think you can get more experience than that. David wasn’t crying after Swansea. None of us do that. The same way that when we beat United 6-1 nobody came to training thinking we’d won the league.”
Lescott admits “the title race is tight but seems more disappointing and negative from our side because we were top for so long”. He points out, however, that, essentially, his team’s task is unchanged.
“If we win every game, we win the league. It’s no different and that’s what we’ve got to remember. Nobody in the dressing room is making speeches or ‘stepping up’ because we don’t see there being a crisis at the minute.”
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There’s a strength in Lescott’s character belied by his mild voice and gentle manner. He is proof that bullies don’t win and quiet kids can be misunderstood.
At school he suffered terribly because of dyslexia. “Now, dyslexia is not a disability — it’s just the way you learn. Before, it was seen as a disability,” he says.
Reading by himself was “fine, fluent”. But in front of class “you clam up and get nervous. Kids being kids, laugh. I tried to find ways of getting out of reading or showing people my work. The teachers understood a little but not to the extent they would now. It wasn’t as accepted. The word they used when I was younger was ‘dumb’ ”.
He didn’t confront his tormentors — even though, given his size, there would have only been one winner. “I’ve never been a fighter but football helped a lot because when we got on the pitch, they weren’t as strong as me,” he says. “I want to inspire kids to know it’s okay.” He has conceived a competition that ties in an unusual business interest.
In partnership with his brother, Aaron, and close friend Jordan Stewart, the Millwall player, Lescott has launched a fashion label and is challenging youngsters to create a T-shirt based on their aspirations. Proceeds from high street sales of the winning design will support the National Literacy Association.
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Fashion? “Football’s my passion but it’s my second love,” he says. “I’m hoping this will be a business which will sustain me after playing. I’ve given a lot to football. To go into coaching would mean giving my entire life. I don’t think my family deserves that — I’ve missed a lot of Christmases and birthdays.”
What does he think of Mario Balotelli, he of the “chicken hat” and glossy jackets, being named second-best dressed man in Britain by GQ? “It’s terrible. It’s crazy,” Lescott hoots. “I thought that magazine had style ... It’s done us no favours in the dressing room because now he believes it all. Before, we thought we could banter him and ruin his gear.
“He told Noel Gallagher Brits can’t dress and only Italians know fashion. Well, you’ve got to say the Italians have style ... but we’ve probably got the worst dressed Italian in the world.”
Today Lescott wants help from a friend. United play his former club Wolves: “Terry Connor, TC, is probably the most influential coach I’ve worked with. I was just finishing in the youth team and he was reserves manager. He took me under his wing and a lot of stuff that happens now, and I know how to react — that’s down to him. I owe him a lot.
“Hopefully he does me another favour and gets some points off United. I might text him before the game.”
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Facing Chelsea means facing Didier Drogba, whom he names alongside Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha as the toughest Premier League strikers to mark. City’s own forwards must step up. The freewheeling attacking of pre-Christmas has gone.
“There’s that much at stake for every team that every game’s a lot harder now. Teams are trying not to lose, whereas earlier in the season they could afford to go out and try and win,” Lescott says. “They come to City and feel a draw is a good result.”
A dip in Silva’s form has affected City maybe more than it should. Sergio Aguero is doing his bit but other difference-makers are needed: Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, “the worst dressed Italian in the world”...
And a certain somebody else. Lescott’s self-designed T-shirt reads: “I hold the key”. In truth, that might be Tevez.
Aspire Attire! is a competition for 11 to 16-year-olds to design a T-shirt for the LescottStewart autumn range. It is run by LescottStewart and the National Literacy Association. Full details at www.nlaguide.co.uk/aspire-attire